Murder trial for man accused of killing Fort Dodge woman moved to Mason City

Jessica Gomez, 26, of Fort Dodge, was found killed in a rural area east of Clare in Webster County. Her friend, Mackenzie Lee Knigge, 26, of Clare, a woman originally reported missing with Gomez, has been charged with first degree murder. Phillip Anthony Williams, 25, of Lafayette, Ind., also is charged with murder. Three other people were also arrested with Knigge and Williams in Indiana.
Linh Ta/The Register

Phillip Anthony Williams(Photo11: Tippecanoe County Jail / Special to the Register)

In a court motion asking to change his trial's location, Williams' lawyers said Gomez and Knigge were longtime residents of Webster County and have extensive ties to the community. The case has also received significant media coverage.

"Webster County is a small, close-knit community," the motion states. "The combination of community familiarity with Ms. Knigge and Ms. Gomez as well as the pervasive media coverage has created a substantial likelihood that a fair and impartial trial for Mr. Williams cannot be conducted in Webster County."

Knigge's trial was set to begin this week and prospective jurors reported for jury selection, but 44 of the 103 who were called had already formed an opinion about her guilt, Williams' motion states. Knigge's trial was moved to Story County and set for June 10, 2019.

"The facts that have rendered an impartial jury impossible for Ms. Knigge also have rendered an impartial jury impossible for Mr. Williams," his lawyers wrote in a court motion to change the trial's location.

On Thursday, Judge Thomas Bice ordered Williams' trial to take place in Mason City. It is scheduled to begin on March 4, 2019.

Mackenzie Knigge(Photo11: Tippecanoe County Jail / Special to the Register)

Gomez was found dead in August 2017 in a field near Clare, in Webster County, after deputies found one of the suspect's apartments covered in blood, authorities said. Her remains had been burned.

Gomez was last seen by family and friends on Aug. 4, 2017; her body was found about a week later.

Before investigators had found Gomez's remains, Webster County deputies discovered a bloody crime scene indicative of a homicide at Knigge's apartment, authorities said.

Deputies said it appeared that a body had been pulled over the edge of the tub onto a surface so it could be removed without spreading blood. Bleach, face masks and a roll of plastic were found, indicative of an attempt to conceal the crime, the sheriff's office said.

A friend of Knigge told investigators that on the day after Gomez was reported missing, Knigge said Williams "had killed someone," court records show. She and Williams were also "going to have to destroy" their cell phones, according to charging documents.